My third watch of Dead Man, this singular, haunting masterpiece, and I'm still amazed at how thematically dense it is. One of the few films I wouldn't hesitate to call genuinely brilliant.

I've probably seen it 20 times or so now, including 9 times first-run in 1996-7. Still my favorite western and the greatest film ever I think about the "American soul" - or maybe more generally the soul of the conqueror - which is pretty damn dark. And apart from the density which you mention, it's just an incredible aesthetic work, with the cinematography, art direction, editing and score all absolutely peak-level in all of cinema. I got the Criterion the moment it came out of course but still haven't gotten around to watching it again; one of my goals this next year might be to re-watch every film in my all-time top 10 again so I hope to do that and write up a real review of it - wish I still had the stuff I wrote when I saw it initially which I was rather happy with.

Glad to see some love for it on here! I'd be very interested to read a review from you if you do get around to it, it's a movie that I feel like could be talked about for hours and hours without even coming close to covering all of the interesting stuff in it.

It's definitely very dark, but I find the film extremely beautiful as well. The ending, the scene with the fawn, the paper flowers segment, those are all overwhelming to me.

This is what I personally believe to be the best film of all time from my favourite director Sion Sono.

The story goes around religion, love, fetish and social standards and it all sums up in the best love story ever depicted in any movie. It's always so charming, funny and intelligent with such a crazy and beautiful ending. This has been my favourite movie for a decade as no other movie has had the same impact on me, even on a personal level. As such, this is the only movie in my book to deserve a ★★★★★ rating.

I can only thank my mother for being alive to watch this masterpiece.

On a side note, this is the first time I've seen the TV version. While it adds some key scenes that give a better understanding about Koike's feelings towards Yu and her plan to take more people into joining Church Zero, especially to anyone who's watching this movie for the first time, I absolutely deslike the fact that I had to watch the opening and ending credits of all episodes. Kinda breaks the flow of a movie that isn't meant to be seen in an episodic format. I obviously enjoyed a lot watching the new content, but the movie version is how it is meant to be seen.

I'm praying to the Hentai God to give us the 6 hour version one day.

10/10

First ManThere's enough information on the internet behind the moon landing and all the events and people related to it. I just wanna see the final sequence and this movie really made me go to the moon. Loved the music!
There's some human drama but it never gets boring. It felt enough to me.
8/10

One Cut of the DeadMovies about making movies are just the best!
8/10

Blade Runner 2049So beautiful, I like it even more than the original. Watched it twice this year.
9/10

Love Exposure is one of the most perfectly paced movies I've ever seen, so I'm not sure I'd totally love the initial much longer cut, but I'd check it out if it ever did see the light of day because...how could I not?!

Last night I was feeling sad and grumpy (I just found out an old friend passed away), so I got in the right frame of mind to watch these two back-to-back:

Super Troopers 2 (2018)

I made my wife watch the first one not too long ago, and while she found parts of it funny, it wasn't really her type of humor overall. So I watched this while she was in the other room playing video games, frequently pausing it so I could explain to her the humor she couldn't get without looking at the screen (side benefit: annoying her as well). Not as good as the first, but still really enjoyable if you liked the first. Ample humor and a whole lot of making fun of Americans, including using Canadian stereotypes to make fun of Americans. The basic plot is that a small town in Canada on the border with Vermont was mis-classified and is actually part of the US. So the town is turning American, and the Super Troopers are put in charge of being the transition police force. Things like the accents (Canadian French accents - NOT French-Canadian; take an over-the-top French accent and overlay it with a stereotypical Canadian accent), the casting (Will Sasso as a Mountie with a French accent is hilarious), and stereotypes (Canadians making fun of the Americans for mispronouncing "sorry") all provided fodder for the humor. Recommended for non-sober people who liked the first.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

I was shocked to learn I didn't have a rating for this, so I do now. So much fun. I actually didn't like this movie until I saw it in the "proper" state - then it clicked. One of my favorites of the Coen bros.

I knew this was a polarising one even among Cronenberg diehards, and I see a lot of people calling it boring and difficult to sit through, but I thought it was fucking hilarious and sat through the entire film with a grin on my face, did I somehow watch a different film by accident?

I knew this was a polarising one even among Cronenberg diehards, and I see a lot of people calling it boring and difficult to sit through, but I thought it was fucking hilarious and sat through the entire film with a grin on my face, did I somehow watch a different film by accident?

I liked the film a lot, I didn't laugh all the way through it, but it was interesting for sure. I think the community of filmmakers is struggling to cope with polemicising modern life. It's starting to become quite normal for auteurs to make movies set in the 80s and 90s, simply because they haven't the ability to engage with life as it is now, von Trier is a good example. Many people just shut it out. Ebert's review of the movie is quite telling, I agree with everything he says, except he decided to respond as an ostrich

"Cosmopolis" is a flawlessly directed film about enigmatic people who speak in morose epigrams about vague universal principles they show no sign of understanding. Its characters are bloodless, their speech monotone. If there are people like this, I hope David Cronenberg's film is as close as I ever get to them. You couldn't pay me to see it again.

He simply doesn't want to know about modern life

the film and the novel both lack any trace of Joyce's humor and rich humanity. Here is a stark, forbidding portrait of the damned in a hell of their making.

he's referring to the fact that Cosmopolis is loosely inspired by Ulysses. He doesn't want to know though, why is a humanistic approach appropriate in detailing profoundly adrift and alienated people? Maybe that would help him to ignore the message. I don't think people exist like this in the sense, that, this is entirely unbelieavable as a documentary, what Cronenberg has done is make the internal external, which is his job. I categorise Cosmopolis with Mann's Miami Vice, people don't really want to know about the world and how it is now, they want fantasies. These movies engaged with the modern world and got the ostrich treatment. The decline of love seems an important subject, but again no-one wants to talk about that.

I watched an interview with John Ford the other day. John Wayne started off as his Third Assistant Prop Man, then got promoted to second and finally first. He kinda liked the guy and gave him a screen test, the result after some minor roles was Stagecoach. The point is John Wayne wasn't an actor, he was a fantasist, he never played any role other than himself. All his parts were rewritten so that any action one of his characters took in a movie, no matter how unlikely, obstreperous or plain ridiculous, was ultimately justified. He stands out to me as the archetype of embarrassing patriarchy, everything organised around and subservient to a totem of himself, work, family, everything. And every one of the films he's in, to me it's dirtied by his presence. And if you look beyond the Ford films, at stuff like Green Berets, McQ, Big Jim McLain, you'll find him as an apologist for every conservative disaster of the 20th century, Vietnam, police acting above the law, and the HUAC witch hunting.

And on a quick note I would say that a lot of this was Ford's fault, he turned Wayne into his creature, and finally a monster, Wayne was a regurgitator of Ford's flawed artistic vision of masculinity, he regurgitated it into toxic cold war nastiness. As Henry Fonda said of Ford, “Pappy was full of bullshit, but it was a delightful sort of bullshit.”

Last edited by matthewscott8 on January 11th, 2019, 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Has anyone else seen Free Solo? Jesus, my palms were so sweaty with anxiety that by end of the film they were actually WRINKLY.

Thoroughly gripping stuff, though I very much agree with beasterne's ICM comment: "Great cinematography and fascinating story, but my god this man is out of his mind. I've got a bad feeling that 10 years from now watching this movie will be like watching Grizzly Man."

Has anyone else seen Free Solo? Jesus, my palms were so sweaty with anxiety that by end of the film they were actually WRINKLY.

Thoroughly gripping stuff, though I very much agree with beasterne's ICM comment: "Great cinematography and fascinating story, but my god this man is out of his mind. I've got a bad feeling that 10 years from now watching this movie will be like watching Grizzly Man."

I see that it's from the same people who directed/produced Meru (2015), which I liked a lot (have you seen that one, flaiky?). I'll have to check this out.

The gauzy thoughts of the sturdy Scots
Wrestle with the elements
Up on the trail high
I need to know where does it go
How do I get there and what will I find?

I have a hard time loving Kurosawa, I do see the importance of his film and the influence they had on cinema but I didn't watch a single movie until now that I would re-watch. Only watched his most famous though.

I watched "The Bleeding Edge", a documentary on Netflix about the medical device industry. It's pretty one-sided in that it follows an sympathizes with the victims, but that generally happens when the corporations don't feel that they will get fair coverage (aka good publicity). Still, it does expose some eye-opening policies about how the FDA streamlines approval with minimal research.

A little uneven focus (Essure gets the most attention), and a little too much emotional manipulation (the hispanic woman who loses her kids) makes this documentary marginally good.

I didn't realize from previews that the movie takes place on the Metro North's Hudson line, a train route I've traveled dozens of times over the years. The movie ends at Beacon station, which I was at just last week. There were some small absurdities like the train making local stops in Manhattan or going from Yankees Stadium to Dobbs Ferry in about two minutes. Of course, the whole thing was actually filmed in England, for some reason. And the movie studiously avoids using the name Metro North (would they have had to pay MTA or something?)

Anyway, I've said it before, but I don't mind saying it again: there's nothing as consistent as a Liam Neeson action movie. At this point, we've had Liam on a train, Liam on a plane, Liam versus wolves, Liam's daughter gets kidnapped, Liam's daughter gets kidnapped again, Liam's daughter doesn't get kidnapped but it's somehow related to all the other times she did, Liam (as a drunk) versus Ed Harris, and Liam (sober) versus some general New York lowlifes. What's next? I'd say Liam in a submarine, but we had K-19, although that admittedly was before his midlife reinvention as an action star. Liam in a prison? Liam in some sort of Running Man or Hunger Games or Death Race 2000 scenario? Liam in outer space? Whatever it is, I'll take it. I could keep watching these movies forever.

About that midlife reinvention--I've long thought that it was generally understood though unsaid that Neeson became an action star as a reaction to his wife's tragic death. He dealt with his pain by taking out his rage on an endless succession of cinematic bad guys. I want a journalistic deep dive into that transformation because I think it's (no joke) one of the most compelling actor reinventions I've ever seen. Instead, most of the press on Neeson is about his longtime (and weirdly strident) feelings about New York's horse carriage industry. Well, such are the mysteries of life.

Right off the top, I did like this one, albeit not really as much as Unbreakable or Split, though I would have no trouble recommending this to people who at least enjoyed those two, since anyone with at least a general familiarity with the previous films should find plenty to appreciate here. Of the three, it's certainly the most ambitious and probably the most accessible to wider audiences (apart from the conclusion, but that's a whole other discussion for another day) and while on the whole I felt this did a pretty good job of balancing the two different tones and subject matters of its predecessors, the result was admittedly a tad clunky at times. But I guess that comes with the territory when trying to deconstruct something as massive as the current superhero craze and attempting to scale it down considerably. On that front, I'd say this is one of the most vital and refreshing live action "superhero" films I've seen in quite some time, not least of all because it actually takes risks and has real consequences for its characters and story-line.

SpoilerShow

Trying to be as spoiler-free as I can, but this film actually goes places and takes chances that other contemporary comic book films either merely hint at or will obviously undo in future installments. I'm most curious to see how the crowd who Avengers: Infinity War "risky" and "subversive" will take to this one's conclusion.

Also, as I've mentioned around here before, I work at a mental health facility similar to the one portrayed in this film (the main center where the majority of this takes place was actually filmed in a real building that's just a thirty minute drive from where I work), and I saw this with two of my coworkers; so all three of us got a huge kick out of how poorly run the whole place was, and how everyone there would be pretty easily fired in no time at all. But hey, the needs of the plot outweigh the needs of the logic. We also saw this in IMAX for some reason (typically a neat experience but it rarely justifies the insane pricing - also I'm deaf now). While this is indeed a very nice looking, well shot film and color is used effectively on both an aesthetic and symbolic front, I can't honestly say this was deserving of the format. Perhaps the push for IMAX is part of the overall commentary on the current bloated state of blockbuster superhero fare, I dunno.

7-8/10. At the very least, this was more interesting and effective than a majority of the more awards-friendly offerings I've seen from the last couple of months. The same way that The Visit was a tongue-in-cheek but affectionate send-up of the found footage horror craze, this treads similar ground with the modern comic book superhero formulas, and regardless of its faults, I'm thankful that at least something is trying to take a more measured, thoughtful look at the whole phenomenon.

What's up fam - I don't watch too many movies these days but these were the last few. Saw all these in a theater

If Beale Street Could Talk 8/10 - beautiful movie about dealing with what you can't change; the Barry Jenkins/James Laxton collaboration yields an aesthetic that works well for moody, conversation-heavy flicks like this and Moonlight; I liked the perfume counter insights

Mary Poppins Return 4/10 - not really my cup of tea, but I didn't like the first one much when I was little either; Emily Blunt's great

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 6/10 - fun

Aquaman 7/10 - actually one of the better superhero movies imo

Green Book 8/10 - as good as formula gets

The Favourite 9/10 - my favourite kind of movie, glad it got so much mainstream attention

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 8/10 - solid throughout, and I'm not generally into anthology movies; the first one, the last one, and the Tom Waits one were my favorite segments

Ugetsu 9/10 - liked it just as much as the first time in high school, reminded me why Mizoguchi's one of my favorites

The Tree of Wooden Clogs 8/10 - dug the rhythm of it and it's a brand of filmmaking we need more of, but I kinda feel like I prefer the stuff it inspired to the movie itself

The week began for me with a return trip to China, during which time I saw two of the best movies I have seen in awhile, and then began a foray into Chinese cinema that I continued with for the rest of the week.

Ray (Konchalovsky, 2016)- Almost as good as Foxtrot. Shot as a pseudo documentary (in B & W) investigation into the capture and incarceration of a Russian woman at one of Hitler's death camps during World War 2. 8.5

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)- An Asian Rom Com made in English from an international best selling novel by the same name. Decent fun, with a few insights into Chinese culture along the way. 6

Spring In A Small Town (Mu Fei, 1948, China)- The most famous mainland classic was a bit of a disappointment to me, mainly since it lacked the sophistication I was expecting. 6

Postmen in the Mountains (Jianqui Huo, 1999)- Further into rural China, this film captures the humanity, simplicity, harshness, and beauty of life in a previous time, even for China. 7

Dust In The Wind- Hsiao-Hsien, Hou, Taiwan, 1986)- A switch here to rural Taiwan, and coming of age in the 1970's. Early Hou, but already with a fairly refined style. 7+

11 Flowers (Xiaoshuai, Wang, China, 2011)- A true discovery. Set in the final days of the Cultural Revolution (also in rural, but factory China), this film captures an eventful year in the life of an 11 year old boy. An 8. Very worthwhile, and well done. Deserves far more than 48 watches, and its available on amazon prime.

Angels Wear White (Vivian Qu, China, 2017)- The best of my current survey of Chinese cinema, and another discovery on amazon prime, not only of a new outstanding woman filmmaker (Vivian Qu), but a couple of amazing young actresses. 8+ Now has 36 checks

And on a quick note I would say that a lot of this was Ford's fault, he turned Wayne into his creature, and finally a monster, Wayne was a regurgitator of Ford's flawed artistic vision of masculinity, he regurgitated it into toxic cold war nastiness. As Henry Fonda said of Ford, “Pappy was full of bullshit, but it was a delightful sort of bullshit.”

Couldn't agree more about John Wayne, and John Ford, though I have to give Ford props for having a kind of cinematic vision that has influenced so many other filmmakers since.

I didn't realize from previews that the movie takes place on the Metro North's Hudson line, a train route I've traveled dozens of times over the years. The movie ends at Beacon station, which I was at just last week. There were some small absurdities like the train making local stops in Manhattan or going from Yankees Stadium to Dobbs Ferry in about two minutes. Of course, the whole thing was actually filmed in England, for some reason. And the movie studiously avoids using the name Metro North (would they have had to pay MTA or something?)

Anyway, I've said it before, but I don't mind saying it again: there's nothing as consistent as a Liam Neeson action movie. At this point, we've had Liam on a train, Liam on a plane, Liam versus wolves, Liam's daughter gets kidnapped, Liam's daughter gets kidnapped again, Liam's daughter doesn't get kidnapped but it's somehow related to all the other times she did, Liam (as a drunk) versus Ed Harris, and Liam (sober) versus some general New York lowlifes. What's next? I'd say Liam in a submarine, but we had K-19, although that admittedly was before his midlife reinvention as an action star. Liam in a prison? Liam in some sort of Running Man or Hunger Games or Death Race 2000 scenario? Liam in outer space? Whatever it is, I'll take it. I could keep watching these movies forever.

About that midlife reinvention--I've long thought that it was generally understood though unsaid that Neeson became an action star as a reaction to his wife's tragic death. He dealt with his pain by taking out his rage on an endless succession of cinematic bad guys. I want a journalistic deep dive into that transformation because I think it's (no joke) one of the most compelling actor reinventions I've ever seen. Instead, most of the press on Neeson is about his longtime (and weirdly strident) feelings about New York's horse carriage industry. Well, such are the mysteries of life.

You can have them (it). I was conned by my nephew into watching the Commuter (a sacrifice for the sake of bonding is some times a good thing). My guess is that The Commuter will be the worst film I see this year, and the year has just begun.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)- An Asian Rom Com made in English from an international best selling novel by the same name. Decent fun, with a few insights into Chinese culture along the way. 6

0/10 for me

I had more of a middling reaction than you did, though 6 is probably too high a score. It did think it was more interesting than The Commuter, but then These are easily the two movies least worth talking about, among those I have seen so far this year, and oddly enough these are the only two anyone here has commented on.

Came across this by accident and was thoroughly impressed, never heard of this director before and the acting is top notch by McCarthy and Grant (the guy from Withnail and I). One of the best 2018 films for sure.

I knew this was a polarising one even among Cronenberg diehards, and I see a lot of people calling it boring and difficult to sit through, but I thought it was fucking hilarious and sat through the entire film with a grin on my face, did I somehow watch a different film by accident?

No, it is absolutely fantastic, wonderfully surreal and tied for best Limo Film of 2012!

(also in my top 5 of the year)

I loved what they did with the dialog. It almost felt like an English language Godard film in parts.

I have a hard time loving Kurosawa, I do see the importance of his film and the influence they had on cinema but I didn't watch a single movie until now that I would re-watch. Only watched his most famous though.

What have you seen so far?

Kurosawa is a very diverse director, covering everything from bleak noirs, to his more popular samurai films, to poetic and dark dramas, to more traditional sentimental melodramas and even played around with surrealism. Towards the end of his career his films also become more auteur driven than narrative focused, which may interest you more.

You can have them (it). I was conned by my nephew into watching the Commuter (a sacrifice for the sake of bonding is some times a good thing). My guess is that The Commuter will be the worst film I see this year, and the year has just begun.

Well, my extended man crush on Liam Neeson took a massive blow this week. This is going to be tough to come back from.